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Substantial Reduction (substantial + reduction)
Selected AbstractsSubstantial Reduction of Platelet Adhesion by Heparin-Coated StentsJOURNAL OF INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 4 2001CHRISTOPH BICKEL M.D. Although optimized antiplatelet medication has improved the clinical outcome after coronary stenting, vessel occlusion and restenosis still remain a relevant clinical problem. Platelets play a key role in this process. Therefore, the authors compared the platelet adhesion on different stent surface modifications (electropolished without coating or coated with carbon, carbon and additional heparin, silicon carbide, or heparin alone) to investigate their role in reducing platelet adhesion. All stem and additional stainless steel plates were incubated in heparinized whole blood with radiolabeled platelets. Afrer washing the stents and plates four times, radioactivity caused by the adhesion of radiolabeled platelets was measured. The adhesion of radiolabeled platelets, compared to uncoated, electropolished stents, was reduced through silicon carbide coating to 58.6%, by carbon coating with additional heparin to 32.9%, and heparin coating alone to 7.7%. Stent coating with heparin is the most effective among the examined coatings in reducing platelet adhesion in vitro. [source] The Newman,Kwart Rearrangement of O -Aryl Thiocarbamates: Substantial Reduction in Reaction Temperatures through Palladium Catalysis,ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE, Issue 41 2009Jeremy Viel ,cooler": Dank der Entwicklung eines Katalysators für die Newman-Kwart-Umlagerung lassen sich die harschen thermischen Bedingungen der unkatalysierten Reaktion nun vermeiden (siehe Schema). Ersten mechanistischen Studien zufolge (Isotopenmarkierung (2H, 18O, 34S), kinetische Messungen und DFT-Rechnungen) verläuft die Reaktion über eine oxidative Fünf-Zentren-Addition zu einem Pd-S-Komplex mit intermolekularem Austausch von Aryl- und Thiocarbamat-Gruppen durch Dimerisierung des Ruhekomplexes. [source] Three-year mortality and predictors after release: a longitudinal study of the first-time drug offenders in TaiwanADDICTION, Issue 5 2010Chuan-Yu Chen ABSTRACT Aims To assess the possible increase in mortality rate and associated socio-demographic and judiciary determinants among first-time drug offenders during the first 3 years after release from correctional facilities. Setting and participants A total of 22 224 male and 4444 female adults who had served a sentence of at least 1 day in correctional facilities for illegal drug-related offences were identified from the judiciary records of the Ministry of Justice, Taiwan. Design and measurements The underlying causes of death were defined by the International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision. Findings All-cause standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were 7 for schedule I (e.g. heroin) and 3 for schedule II (e.g. methamphetamine) drug offenders, respectively; accidents, suicide and circulatory diseases were three leading causes of death. After release, the risk of death among those drug offenders without subsequent incarceration increased gradually until the 9th month. Those who were aged 30 years or older, had an engagement with a higher-ranked schedule substance or who received severe sentences were two to three times more likely to die. Substantial reduction in the risk of death was linked with re-imprisonment. Conclusions The SMR estimates for external causes were greater than those for disease-related causes in drug offenders, and schedule I drugs-related mortality rate was twice as high as that with schedule II drugs. In transitioning from the correctional setting to the community, the health needs of drug offenders should be addressed by the provision of continuous, adequate medical care tailored to individual background, medical history and drug experience. [source] The Chinese Enigma: Impacts of WTO Accession Upon Canadian and U.S. Exports and ImportsCANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2000Xiao-Yuan Dong China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an important milestone in the integration of this nation into the world economy. Substantial reduction in trade barriers by China, one of the world's largest and most rapidly growing economies, is expected to have a significant impact, both on China itself and on the global economy. In assessing likely impacts on trade between China and North America of China joining the WTO, a priori one might expect new opportunities for China in labor intensive activities/products, while for the United States and for Canada one might expect added export market opportunities, as China grows, in activities/products that require land, resources and capital. However, the extent to which China and its trading partners will benefit from China's increasing integration into the global economy will largely depend on the internal changes in policy and infrastructure that may be adopted by China. China has embarked on a process of economic reform, but the speed and extent to which this continues to be pursued will affect this nation's ability to capitalize on its comparative advantages and to meet new challenges that are associated with the opportunities of access to a larger market. The difficulty of forecasting such internal changes means that China continues to be a major source of uncertainty in projecting world markets and trade flows. This uncertainty is particularly evident for trade in agricultural products [source] Mailed treatment to augment primary care for alcohol disorders: A randomised controlled trialDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 1 2009DAVID KAVANAGH Abstract Introduction and Aims. Remote delivery of interventions is needed to address large numbers of people with alcohol use disorders who are spread over large areas. Previous correspondence trials typically examined its effects as stand-alone treatment. This study aimed to test whether adding postal treatment to general practitioner (GP) support would lower alcohol use more than GP intervention alone. Design and Methods. A single-blind, randomised controlled trial with a crossover design was conducted over 12 months on 204 people with alcohol use disorders. Participants in an immediate correspondence condition received treatment over the first 3 months; those receiving delayed treatment received it in months 3,6. Results. Few participants were referred from GPs, and little intervention was offered by them. At 3 months, 78% of participants remained in the study. Those in immediate treatment showed greater reductions in alcohol per week, drinking days, anxiety, depression and distress than those in the delayed condition. However, post-treatment and follow-up outcomes still showed elevated alcohol use, depression, anxiety and distress. Greater baseline anxiety predicted better alcohol outcomes, although more mental distress at baseline predicted dropout. Discussion and Conclusions. The study gave consistent results with those from previous research on correspondence treatments, and showed that high levels of participant engagement over 3 months can be obtained. Substantial reductions in alcohol use are seen, with indications that they are well maintained. However, many participants continue to show high-risk alcohol use and psychological distress.[Kavanagh D, Connolly JM. Mailed treatment to augment primary care for alcohol disorders: A randomised controlled trial. Drug Alcohol Rev 2009;28:73,80] [source] Effects of a sustained heroin shortage in three Australian StatesADDICTION, Issue 7 2005Louisa Degenhardt ABSTRACT Background In early 2001 in Australia there was a sudden and dramatic decrease in heroin availability that occurred throughout the country that was evidenced by marked increases in heroin price and decreases in its purity. Aim This study examines the impact of this change in heroin supply on the following indicators of heroin use: fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses; treatment seeking for heroin dependence; injecting drug use; drug-specific offences; and general property offences. The study was conducted using data from three Australian States [New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC) and South Australia (SA)]. Methods Data were obtained on fatal and non-fatal overdoses from hospital emergency departments (EDs), ambulance services and coronial systems; treatment entries for heroin dependence compiled by State health departments; numbers of needles and syringes distributed to drug users; and data on arrests for heroin-related incidents and property-related crime incidents compiled by State Police Services. Time-series analyses were conducted where possible to examine changes before and after the onset of the heroin shortage. These were supplemented with information drawn from studies involving interviews with injecting drug users. Results After the reduction in heroin supply, fatal and non-fatal heroin overdoses decreased by between 40% and 85%. Despite some evidence of increased cocaine, methamphetamine and benzodiazepine use and reports of increases in harms related to their use, there were no increases recorded in the number of either non-fatal overdoses or deaths related to these drugs. There was a sustained decline in injecting drug use in NSW and VIC, as indicated by a substantial drop in the number of needles and syringes distributed (to 1999 levels in Victoria). There was a short-lived increase in property crime in NSW followed by a sustained reduction in such offences. SA and VIC did not show any marked change in the categories of property crime examined in the study. Conclusions Substantial reductions in heroin availability have not occurred often, but in this Australian case a reduction had an aggregate positive impact in that it was associated with: reduced fatal and non-fatal heroin overdoses; reduced the apparent extent of injecting drug use in VIC and NSW; and may have contributed to reduced crime in NSW. All these changes provide substantial benefits to the community and some to heroin users. Documented shifts to other forms of drug use did not appear sufficient to produce increases in deaths, non-fatal overdoses or treatment seeking related to those drugs. [source] The National Treatment Outcome Research Study (NTORS): 4,5 year follow-up resultsADDICTION, Issue 3 2003Michael Gossop ABSTRACT Aims ,The National Treatment Outcome Research Study (NTORS) is the first prospective national study of treatment outcome among drug misusers in the United Kingdom. NTORS investigates outcomes for drug misusers treated in existing services in residential and community settings. Design, setting and participants,The study used a longitudinal, prospective cohort design. Data were collected by structured interviews at intake to treatment, 1 year, 2 years and at 4,5 years. The sample comprised 418 patients from 54 agencies and four treatment modalities. Measurements, Measures were taken of illicit drug use, injecting and sharing injecting equipment, alcohol use, psychological health and crime. Findings, Rates of abstinence from illicit drugs increased after treatment among patients from both residential and community (methadone) programmes. Reductions were found for frequency of use of heroin, non-prescribed methadone, benzodiazepines, injecting and sharing of injecting equipment. For most variables, reductions were evident at 1 year with outcomes remaining at about the 1 year level or with further reductions. Crack cocaine and alcohol outcomes at 4,5 years were not significantly different from intake. Conclusions, Substantial reductions across a range of problem behaviours were found 4,5 years after patients were admitted to national treatment programmes delivered under day-to-day conditions. The less satisfactory outcomes for heavy drinking and use of crack cocaine suggest the need for services to be modified to tackle these problems more effectively. Despite differences between the United Kingdom and the United States in patient populations and in treatment programmes, there are many similarities between the two countries in outcomes from large-scale, multi-site studies. [source] Feature Extraction for Traffic Incident Detection Using Wavelet Transform and Linear Discriminant AnalysisCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2000A. Samant To eliminate false alarms, an effective traffic incident detection algorithm must be able to extract incident-related features from the traffic patterns. A robust feature-extraction algorithm also helps reduce the dimension of the input space for a neural network model without any significant loss of related traffic information, resulting in a substantial reduction in the network size, the effect of random traffic fluctuations, the number of required training samples, and the computational resources required to train the neural network. This article presents an effective traffic feature-extraction model using discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The DWT is first applied to raw traffic data, and the finest resolution coefficients representing the random fluctuations of traffic are discarded. Next, LDA is employed to the filtered signal for further feature extraction and reducing the dimensionality of the problem. The results of LDA are used as input to a neural network model for traffic incident detection. [source] Forest Stand Dynamics and Livestock Grazing in Historical ContextCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2005MICHAEL M. BORMAN clima; incendio forestal; pastoreo histórico; pino ponderosa; supresión de fuego Abstract:,Livestock grazing has been implicated as a cause of the unhealthy condition of ponderosa pine forest stands in the western United States. An evaluation of livestock grazing impacts on natural resources requires an understanding of the context in which grazing occurred. Context should include timing of grazing, duration of grazing, intensity of grazing, and species of grazing animal. Historical context, when and under what circumstances grazing occurred, is also an important consideration. Many of the dense ponderosa pine forests and less-than-desirable forest health conditions of today originated in the early 1900s. Contributing to that condition was a convergence of fire, climate, and grazing factors that were unique to that time. During that time period, substantially fewer low-intensity ground fires (those that thinned dense stands of younger trees) were the result of reduced fine fuels (grazing), a substantial reduction in fires initiated by Native Americans, and effective fire-suppression programs. Especially favorable climate years for tree reproduction occurred during the early 1900s. Exceptionally heavy, unregulated, unmanaged grazing by very large numbers of horses, cattle, and sheep during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries occurred in most of the U.S. West and beginning earlier in portions of the Southwest. Today, livestock numbers on public lands are substantially lower than they were during this time and grazing is generally managed. Grazing then and grazing now are not the same. Resumen:,El pastoreo de ganado ha sido implicado como una causa de la mala salud de los bosques de pino ponderosa en el occidente de Estados Unidos. La evaluación de los impactos del pastoreo sobre los recursos naturales requiere de conocimiento del contexto en que ocurrió el pastoreo. El contexto debe incluir al período de ocurrencia, la duración y la intensidad del pastoreo, así como la especie de animal que pastoreó. El contexto histórico, cuando y bajo que circunstancias ocurrió el pastoreo, también es una consideración importante. Muchos de los bosques densos de pino ponderosa y de las condiciones, menos que deseables, de salud de los bosques actuales se originaron al principio del siglo pasado. Contribuyó a esa condición una convergencia de factores, fuego, clima y pastoreo, que fueron únicos en ese tiempo. Durante ese período, hubo sustancialmente menos incendios superficiales de baja intensidad (que afectaron a grupos densos de árboles más jóvenes) como resultado de la reducción de combustibles finos (pastoreo), una reducción sustancial en los incendios iniciados por Americanos Nativos y programas efectivos de supresión de incendios. Al inicio del siglo pasado hubo años con clima especialmente favorable para la reproducción de árboles. Al final del siglo diecinueve y comienzo del veinte hubo pastoreo no regulado ni manejado, excepcionalmente intensivo, por una gran cantidad de caballos, reses y ovejas en la mayor parte del oeste de E.U.A. y aun antes en porciones del suroeste. En la actualidad, el número de semovientes en terrenos públicos es sustancialmente menor al de ese tiempo, y el pastoreo generalmente es manejado. El pastoreo entonces y el pastoreo ahora no son lo mismo. [source] Micronization of the officinal component baicalin by SEDS-PA processCRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 6 2007Wen Zhi He Abstract Application of micronizing technologies in processing Chinese herbal medicines is very important to improve the forms of prepared Chinese herbal medicines and promote their therapeutic efficacy. Baicalin, a major active component of the typical Chinese herb medicine Scullateria baicallensis Georgi, was micronized using the Solution Enhanced Dispersion by Supercritical fluids though Prefilming Atomization (SEDS-PA) process with the aim of evaluating the efficiency of applying supercritical fluid precipitation technologies in Chinese herb medicine. This study has shown that acicula or rod-like baicalin crystals with Particle Size (PS) of about 20×100 ,m were successfully micronized by the SEDS-PA process to long rod-like, twisted fiber-like or fibrous net-like microparticles with PS of 0.1-2.2 ,m in width within the range of experiments performed. It was found that a substantial reduction of baicalin microparticles' sizes could lead to a marked increase of adhesions among them and subsequent microparticles agglomeration. With the increase of supercritical CO2 flow rate and the decrease of solution concentration and solution flow rate, smaller and much more agglomerated microparticles were obtained. Increasing pressure led to formation of smaller microparticles. A larger tendency of particles agglomeration was produced at a higher temperature. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitors: a major new class of oral antidiabetic drugDIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM, Issue 2 2007Iskandar Idris Exploiting the incretin effect to develop new glucose-lowering treatments has become the focus of intense research. One successful approach has been the development of oral inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV). These drugs reversibly block DPP-IV-mediated inactivation of incretin hormones, for example, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and also other peptides that have alanine or proline as the penultimate N-terminal amino acid. DPP-IV inhibitors, therefore, increase circulating levels and prolong the biological activity of endogenous GLP-1, but whether this is sufficient to fully explain the substantial reduction in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and associated metabolic profile remains open to further investigation. DPP-IV inhibitors such as vildagliptin and sitagliptin have been shown to be highly effective antihyperglycaemic agents that augment insulin secretion and reduce glucagon secretion via glucose-dependent mechanisms. This review summarizes the major clinical trials with DPP-IV inhibitors as monotherapy and as add-on therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes. The magnitude of HbA1c reduction with DPP-IV inhibitors depends upon the pretreatment HbA1c values, but there seems to be no change in body weight, and very low rates of hypoglycaemia and gastrointestinal disturbance with these agents. DPP-IV inhibitors represent a major new class of oral antidiabetic drug and their metabolic profile offers a number of unique clinical advantages for the management of type 2 diabetes. [source] Evaluation of a holistic treatment and teaching programme for patients with Type 1 diabetes who failed to achieve their therapeutic goals under intensified insulin therapyDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 9 2000U. Bott SUMMARY Aims To evaluate a treatment and teaching programme including psychosocial modules for patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus on intensified insulin therapy who failed to achieve their treatment goals despite participation in standard programmes. Methods The 5-day inpatient programme comprises small groups of 4,6 patients, focusing on individual needs and problems. Beyond the teaching lessons (most topics are deliberately chosen by the patients), the programme provides intensive group discussions and offers individual counselling concerning motivational aspects, psychosocial problems and coping strategies. Of the first consecutive 83 participants, 76 were re-examined after 17.5 ± 5.5 months (range 9,31 months). Results At follow-up, HbA1c was not improved compared to baseline (8.0 ± 1.3% vs. 8.1 ± 1.5%). However, the incidence of severe hypoglycaemia per patient/year (glucose i.v., glucagon injection) was substantially decreased: 0.62 ± 1.5 episodes at baseline compared to 0.16 ± 0.9 at follow-up (P < 0.001). Twenty-six per cent of the patients at baseline, and 4% at re-examination had experienced at least one episode of severe hypoglycaemia during the preceding year (P < 0.001). Sick leave days per patient/year decreased from 17.0 ± 38.5,7.7 ± 13.6 days (P < 0.05). Patients improved their perceptions of self-efficacy, their relationship to doctors and felt less externally controlled (P < 0.001). The majority of patients perceived an improved competence regarding diet (80.6%) and adaptation of insulin dosage (82.4%), an improved knowledge (82.2%), and a renewed motivation for the treatment (84.5%). Treatment success was significantly associated with baseline HbA1c, stability of motivation, frequency of blood glucose self-monitoring, control beliefs and change in subsequent outpatient care. Conclusions The programme improved glycaemic control mainly as a result of a substantial reduction in the incidence of severe hypoglycaemia. Patients with persistent poor glycaemic control may benefit from structured follow-up care focusing on motivational aspects of self-management and psychosocial support. [source] Variation in performance reveals discharge-related energy costs for foraging Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parrECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH, Issue 4 2006P. S. Kemp Abstract,,, The energetic costs associated with foraging and social interaction for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr was estimated by measuring gross differences in performance (growth and lipid content) during two experimental trials conducted in an artificial river channel, under similar food input at two discharges. The discharges provided velocities within the range commonly experienced by salmon in the wild. Fish growth (second trial) and lipid content (first trial) were the highest at the lower discharge. Fish were less active and used a smaller area of the experimental arena under high flow. These behavioural adjustments are consistent with the reduction of energy costs at high discharge. However, there was no effect of discharge on aggressive behaviour or food intake. Therefore, despite evidence of energy economy in response to high discharge and velocity, the energetic costs of foraging were sufficiently high to cause substantial reduction in performance. In common with the findings of previous studies, dominance status was associated with individual variation in performance and habitat use. [source] The role of the ICOS/B7RP-1 T cell costimulatory pathway in murine experimental autoimmune uveoretinitisEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 11 2006Yoshihiko Usui Abstract ICOS/B7RP-1 is a new member of the CD28/B7 family of costimulatory molecules and plays differential roles in autoimmune diseases. In this study, we examined the role of ICOS/B7RP-1 pathway in the pathogenesis of mouse experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), an animal model of human autoimmune uveitis. ICOS expression was found on infiltrating CD4+ T cells in the region of the retina in EAU-induced mice. The anti-B7RP-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb)-treated or ICOS-deficient mice showed a substantial reduction of disease scores. Blockade of ICOS/B7RP-1 interaction during the effector phase ameliorated the disease, whereas its blockade during the induction phase exhibited no significant effect. Moreover, administration of anti-B7RP-1 mAb effectively ameliorated the disease induced by adoptive transfer of pathogenic T cells. The anti-B7RP-1 mAb treatment inhibited the expansion and/or effector function of pathogenic T cells, given that proliferative response and IFN-, production by lymph node cells were reduced upon restimulation with the antigen peptide in vitro. These results suggest that the ICOS/B7RP-1 interaction plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of uveitis. We also indicated that ICOS-mediated costimulation plays differential roles in EAU and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, which is also a Th1 disease induced in the same manner as EAU. [source] Complement activation by both classical and alternative pathways is critical for the effector phase of arthritisEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 4 2004Albert Hietala Abstract To analyze the role of the classical and alternative pathways of complement activation in the effector phase of arthritis, we have induced arthritis in C3- and factor,B (FB)-deficient (C3,/, and FB,/,) DBA/1J mice using well-defined monoclonal IgG2b and IgG2a antibodies to type,II collagen. In control DBA/1J mice, severe swelling of the joints, destruction of cartilage and erosion of bone developed very rapidly with a 100% incidence and a peak on days,7,10. Although 75% of C3,/, mice developed arthritis, the clinical severity was very mild and the onset was delayed. Severity of arthritis in FB,/, mice ranked intermediate in comparison with C3,/, and control mice with an incidence of 100%. Immunohistochemical analysis of the inflamed joints demonstrated substantial reduction in macrophage and neutrophilic leukocyte infiltration in both C3,/, and FB,/, mice, thereby confirming the clinical findings. We conclude that both the classical and the alternative pathways of complement activation are involved in the effector phase of arthritis. [source] Stereotactic cortical resection in non-lesional extra-temporal partial epilepsyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 10 2007D. C. Shields The presentation and treatment of a patient with extra-temporal non-lesional partial epilepsy is discussed herein. His clinical semiology was consistent with supplementary motor area seizures; however, MR imaging did not demonstrate a lesion. A region of stable cortical glucose hypermetabolism in the left frontal region was noted with 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET. This was consistent with the frequent interictal discharges evident over the left fronto-temporal region and the stereotypic high amplitude ictal discharges arising with highest amplitude from the left frontal region. Epileptiform activity evident on an intracranial 64-point subdural recording grid placed over the left dorsolateral frontal cortex confirmed a distribution concordant with FDG-PET findings. The subsequent resection was guided by the PET and EEG findings rather than structural MR imaging, and a limited cortical resection led to an immediate and substantial reduction in seizure frequency. [source] Deficits in the mid-brain raphe nuclei and striatum of the AS/AGU rat, a protein kinase C-, mutantEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 11 2005M. Al-Fayez Abstract The AS/AGU rat carries a recessive mutation (agu) in the gene coding for the gamma isoform of protein kinase C. The rat is characterized by disordered locomotion and progressive dysfunction of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic (DA) system. This dysfunction begins with a failure to release DA within the striatum and culminates in cell loss within the substantia nigra pars compacta. The present study examines another midbrain aminergic system with input to the basal ganglia, the serotonergic (5-HT) raphe,striatal system originating in the dorsal raphe nucleus. By 3 months after birth, there is a very substantial reduction in the extracellular levels of 5-HT in the dorsal caudate-putamen of the mutants compared with controls (c. 70%). This is accompanied by a proportional increase in the levels of the 5-HT metabolite 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA). At a later age, there are reductions in whole tissue 5-HT (and increases in 5-HIAA) in both the striatum and the region containing the dorsal raphe nucleus, as well as numbers of 5-HT-immunoreactive cells in the dorsal raphe nucleus. The median raphe appears to be unaffected. The results are seen in terms of an initial dysfunction in transmitter release leading to cell death, perhaps through the formation of free radicals or neurotoxins. [source] Delay of myelin formation in arylsulphatase A-deficient miceEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2005Afshin Yaghootfam Abstract Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by the deficiency of arylsulphatase A (ASA). This leads to the accumulation of the sphingolipid 3-O-sulphogalactosylceramide (sulphatide) and progressive demyelination in the nervous system of MLD patients. The mechanisms and development of pathology in the disease are still largely unknown. In this study we investigate how the inability to degrade sulphatide affects the formation of myelin in ASA-deficient (ASA,/,) mice. In mice at 2 weeks of age there was a substantial reduction in myelin basic protein (MBP) mRNA and protein. This was confirmed by an immunohistochemical analysis. MBP mRNA and protein, however, reach normal levels at 3 weeks of age. Proteolipid protein (PLP) and MAL mRNA were also reduced in ASA,/, mice at 2 weeks of age; whereas the level of PLP mRNA was normal at 26 weeks of age, MAL mRNA expression remained reduced up to this age. In situ hybridization revealed no significant changes in the number of myelinating oligodendrocytes or oligodendrocyte precursor cells in ASA,/, mice. These results suggest that oligodendrocyte differentiation was normal in ASA,/, mice. No differences were found in the expression of the sulphatide synthesizing enzymes cerebroside sulphotransferase and UDP-galactose : ceramide galactosyltransferase. Our data demonstrate a delay in myelin formation in ASA,/, mice. This raises the possibility that similar alterations in MLD patients may contribute to the pathology of the disease. [source] Seasonal dynamics of macrophytes and phytoplankton in shallow lakes: a eutrophication-driven pathway from plants to plankton?FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010CARL D. SAYER Summary 1. Seasonal relationships between macrophyte and phytoplankton populations may alter considerably as lakes undergo eutrophication. Understanding of these changes may be key to the interpretation of ecological processes operating over longer (decadal-centennial) timescales. 2. We explore the seasonal dynamics of macrophytes (measured twice in June and August) and phytoplankton (measured monthly May,September) populations in 39 shallow lakes (29 in the U.K. and 10 in Denmark) covering broad gradients for nutrients and plant abundance. 3. Three site groups were identified based on macrophyte seasonality; 16 lakes where macrophyte abundance was perennially low and the water generally turbid (,turbid lakes'); 7 where macrophyte abundance was high in June but low in August (,crashing' lakes); and 12 where macrophyte abundance was high in both June and August (,stable' lakes). The seasonal behaviour of the crashing and turbid lakes was extremely similar with a consistent increase in nutrient concentrations and chlorophyll- a over May,September. By contrast in the stable lakes, seasonal changes were dampened with chlorophyll- a consistently low (<10,15 ,g L,1) over the entire summer. The crashing lakes were dominated by one or a combination of Potamogeton pusillus, Potamogeton pectinatus and Zannichellia palustris, whereas Ceratophyllum demersum and Chara spp. were more abundant in the stable lakes. 4. A long-term loss of macrophyte species diversity has occurred in many shallow lakes affected by eutrophication. One common pathway is from a species-rich plant community with charophytes to a species-poor community dominated by P. pusillus, P. pectinatus and Z. palustris. Such compositional changes may often be accompanied by a substantial reduction in the seasonal duration of plant dominance and a greater tendency for incursions by phytoplankton. We hypothesise a slow-enacting (10,100 s years) feedback loop in nutrient-enriched shallow lakes whereby increases in algal abundance are associated with losses of macrophyte species and hence different plant seasonal strategies. In turn such changes may favour increased phytoplankton production thus placing further pressure on remaining macrophytes. This study blurs the distinction between so-called turbid phytoplankton-dominated and clear plant-dominated shallow lakes and suggests that plant loss from them may be a gradual process. [source] Perception of sweet taste is important for voluntary alcohol consumption in miceGENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 1 2008Y. A. Blednov To directly evaluate the association between taste perception and alcohol intake, we used three different mutant mice, each lacking a gene expressed in taste buds and critical to taste transduction: ,-gustducin (Gnat3), Tas1r3 or Trpm5. Null mutant mice lacking any of these three genes showed lower preference score for alcohol and consumed less alcohol in a two-bottle choice test, as compared with wild-type littermates. These null mice also showed lower preference score for saccharin solutions than did wild-type littermates. In contrast, avoidance of quinine solutions was less in Gnat3 or Trpm5 knockout mice than in wild-type mice, whereas Tas1r3 null mice were not different from wild type in their response to quinine solutions. There were no differences in null vs. wild-type mice in their consumption of sodium chloride solutions. To determine the cause for reduction of ethanol intake, we studied other ethanol-induced behaviors known to be related to alcohol consumption. There were no differences between null and wild-type mice in ethanol-induced loss of righting reflex, severity of acute ethanol withdrawal or conditioned place preference for ethanol. Weaker conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to alcohol in null mice may have been caused by weaker rewarding value of the conditioned stimulus (saccharin). When saccharin was replaced by sodium chloride, no differences in CTA to alcohol between knockout and wild-type mice were seen. Thus, deletion of any one of three different genes involved in detection of sweet taste leads to a substantial reduction of alcohol intake without any changes in pharmacological actions of ethanol. [source] The noncoding RNA, miR-126, suppresses the growth of neoplastic cells by targeting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling and is frequently lost in colon cancersGENES, CHROMOSOMES AND CANCER, Issue 11 2008Chunguang Guo MicroRNAs (miRNA/miR) are a class of small noncoding RNAs implicated in the pathogenesis of various malignancies. In the current study, using micro(RNA) arrays, we found a ubiquitous loss of miR-126 expression in colon cancer lines when compared to normal human colon epithelia. Reconstitution of miR-126 in colon cancer cells resulted in a significant growth reduction as evidenced in clonogenic assays. A search for miR-126 gene targets revealed p85,, a regulatory subunit involved in stabilizing and propagating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signal, as one of the potential substrates. Restoration of miR-126 in cancer cells induced a ,3-fold reduction in p85, protein levels, with no concomitant change in p85,, a gene that is functionally related to p85, but not a supposed target of miR-126. Additionally, using reporter constructs, we show that the p85,-3, untranslated region is directly targeted by miR-126. Furthermore, this miR-126 mediated reduction of p85, was accompanied by a substantial reduction in phosphorylated AKT levels in the cancer cells, suggesting an impairment in PI3K signaling. Finally, in a panel of matched normal colon and primary colon tumors, each of the tumors demonstrated miR-126 down-regulation together with an increase in the p85, protein level. Taken together, we propose that miR-126 regulates PI3K signaling partly by targeting p85,, and that the loss of miR-126 may provide a selective growth advantage during colon carcinogenesis. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Influence of UV Irradiation on Ketonic Defect Emission in Fluorene-Based Copolymers,ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 17 2008Horst Scheiber Abstract The influence of UV irradiation in inert atmosphere on the emission spectrum of fluorenone containing poly[9,9-bis(2-ethyl)hexylfluorene] (PF2/6) has been investigated by means of optical absorption, photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. It is shown that a substantial reduction of green emission arising from ketonic defect sites can be achieved by irradiation of thin films with UV light. This is found to be accompanied by partial cross-linking of the films. FTIR measurements show no reduction of the C=O stretching mode upon irradiation, and, moreover, the degree of cross-linking does not scale with the relative fluorenone content (0.1, 0.5, and 5%). Therefore, the reduced emission intensity in the green spectral region is rather associated with the occurrence of interruptions in the polymer backbone, which reduce the effective conjugation length and subsequently inhibit the energy transfer onto the ketonic defect sites. The found results enabled us to build organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) that can be structured by selective illumination of the emitting layer with an intense UV light source. This method allows for the fabrication of rather efficient (2000,cd,m,2 at 7,V) two-color OLEDs. [source] Does problem drinking affect employment?HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2004Evidence from England Abstract In this paper, we use data from the Health Survey of England to show that problem drinking is negatively and significantly associated with the probability of being in work, once the endogenous relationship between these outcomes is accounted for. Being a problem drinker leads to a substantial reduction in the probability of working by between 7 and 31%, the former figure being roughly equivalent to the positive effect of having a degree relative to no qualifications in our data. This finding is robust to a variety of identifying restrictions and definitions of problem drinking. Moreover, we find that problem drinking defined by the observed psychological and physical symptoms of alcohol is an important predictor of employment, and allows for the fact that individuals differ in their tolerance or susceptibility to alcohol. Our results suggest that there may be important labour market benefits from public health policies aimed at the prevention and treatment of problem drinking. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Germ-line transformation and RNAi of the ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridisINSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006H. Kuwayama Abstract To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the tremendous diversity of insect wing colour patterns, it is imperative to identify and functionally characterize the genes involved in this developmental process. Here we report the first successful germ-line transformation using the transposable element vector piggyBac in the ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis, which demonstrates typical genetic polymorphism in its wing colour patterns. The transformation efficiency by piggyBac was 3.7% per fertile G0. We investigated the effectiveness of RNAi in Harmonia by injecting EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein) dsRNA into early transgenic EGFP-expressing embryos and observed substantial reduction of EGFP fluorescence in 87.2% of hatched larvae. Application of these new genetic tools to non-model insects such as Harmonia will facilitate the broad understanding of developmental mechanisms and evolutionary processes that are inaccessible using established model systems. [source] Accelerating iterative solution methods using reduced-order models as solution predictorsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2006R. Markovinovi Abstract We propose the use of reduced-order models to accelerate the solution of systems of equations using iterative solvers in time stepping schemes for large-scale numerical simulation. The acceleration is achieved by determining an improved initial guess for the iterative process based on information in the solution vectors from previous time steps. The algorithm basically consists of two projection steps: (1) projecting the governing equations onto a subspace spanned by a low number of global empirical basis functions extracted from previous time step solutions, and (2) solving the governing equations in this reduced space and projecting the solution back on the original, high dimensional one. We applied the algorithm to numerical models for simulation of two-phase flow through heterogeneous porous media. In particular we considered implicit-pressure explicit-saturation (IMPES) schemes and investigated the scope to accelerate the iterative solution of the pressure equation, which is by far the most time-consuming part of any IMPES scheme. We achieved a substantial reduction in the number of iterations and an associated acceleration of the solution. Our largest test problem involved 93 500 variables, in which case we obtained a maximum reduction in computing time of 67%. The method is particularly attractive for problems with time-varying parameters or source terms. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Sensitivity of the regional climate of East/Southeast Asia to convective parameterizations in the RegCM3 modelling system.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 14 2008Part 1: Focus on the Korean peninsula Abstract This study investigates the capability of the regional climate model, RegCM3, to simulate fine-scale regional climate over a narrow peninsula or archipelago. The model is run in one-way double-nested mode with one mother domain and two nested domains. The mother domain encompasses the eastern and southern regions of Asia and adjacent oceans with a grid spacing of 60 km. The first nested domain focuses on the Korean peninsula and the second one covers the Philippine archipelago with a grid spacing of 20 km. The simulation spans a period of 5 years and 1 month, from November 2000 to December 2004. The sensitivity of the two convection schemes, namely, the Grell scheme (Grell) and the MIT-Emanuel scheme (EMU), is studied. Model results obtained with both the Grell and EMU show reasonable performance in capturing the seasonal variation and the spatial characteristics of the East Asian monsoon. However, the Grell simulation appears to have persistent cold and dry biases in the summer season. There is a definite improvement in these model deficiencies by the implementation of EMU. Although the temperature fields in the Grell and EMU simulations are essentially the same in terms of the spatial distribution, the EMU simulation is quantitatively in better agreement with the observed estimates, indicating a substantial reduction in the cold bias. Further, in comparison with the Grell simulation, the EMU simulation shows an improvement in the timing and amplitude of the rain band propagating northward. The spatial distributions of precipitation also have good quality, capturing the localized maxima over Korea. The frequency distributions of daily temperature and precipitation simulated by EMU are closer to observations than those of the Grell simulation. It is found that the convective precipitation derived from different convection parameterizations is a major contributor to the performance of the model in summer. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Experimental study of the combustion efficiency and formation of NOx in an industrial pulverized coal combustorINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 6 2004Li ZhengQi Abstract With horizontal bias combustion burners, experiments have been carried out on a 670 t h,1, corner-fired, pulverized-coal fired boiler burning bituminous coal. At 200 MWe load, the furnace excess O2 remains stable. The different horizontal fuel biases are obtained by changing the tilt angle of all the Louvre enrichers' regulating blades. The tilt angles of the blades are 0, 15, 24, 32°; the result is that the enriching ratios of the fuel-rich primary air increase from 2.2 to 2.6 at No. 2 corner, and from 1.2 to 4.2 at No. 3 corner. The gas temperature increases in the burner region. The application of the horizontal bias combustion burners results in a reduction in NOx formation from 545.7 mg Nm,3 (O2=6%) to 287.9 mg Nm,3, and a substantial reduction in carbon in ash content from 5.24 to 2.48%. The boiler operated stably at a load of 80 MWe without auxiliary fuel oil. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effect of an interdisciplinary educational program on antipsychotic prescribing among nursing home residents with dementiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 6 2008Johanne Monette Abstract Objective To assess the effect of an interdisciplinary educational program in reducing the use of antipsychotics in nursing home residents with dementia. Methods We conducted a longitudinal pilot study to test the implementation of a 7-month interdisciplinary educational program in a fixed cohort of residents with dementia receiving antipsychotics. The program included consciousness-raising, educational sessions, and clinical follow-up. Administrators, physicians, pharmacists, nursing staff, and personal care attendants were involved. The effect of the program was assessed over a 6-month period, in terms of the proportion of discontinuations and dose reductions of antipsychotics. Repeated measures for use of other psychotropics and restraints, frequency of disruptive behaviors, and stressful events experienced by nursing staff and personal care attendants were simultaneously assessed. Results Among the 81 residents still present at the end of the program, there were 40 (49.4%) discontinuations and 11 (13.6%) dose reductions. No significant changes were found in the use of other psychotropics, the use of restraints, or in the number of stressful events experienced by nursing staff and personal care attendants. The frequency of disruptive behaviors decreased significantly over the 6-month period (p,<,0.001). Conclusions Our interdisciplinary educational program led to a substantial reduction in the number of residents receiving antipsychotics and to a decrease in the frequency of disruptive behaviors. Our findings suggest that implementation of recognized practice guidelines could be an effective way to target residents who might not benefit from antipsychotics or who may tolerate a dose reduction. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Using therapeutic community principles to improve the functioning of a high care psychiatric ward in the UKINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 1 2002Willm Mistral ABSTRACT: The effects of interventions within a high-care psychiatric ward, based upon the principles of a therapeutic community, were evaluated. Interventions included an enhanced physical environment, improved communication, clear rules and aims, and improved safety procedures. A Ward Atmosphere Scale, an Attitude Scale, and interviews with staff indicated improvements in ward atmosphere and staff attitudes. Ward records showed a substantial reduction in the use of seclusion for aggressive patient behaviour, and a 62% reduction over 2 years in short-term staff illness. The authors conclude that similar interventions could be used to improve the functioning of other psychiatric wards. [source] Distributed control of event floods in a large telecom networkINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2010Chundury Jagadish Events in a failing system can be generated so rapidly that they adversely impact the network as well as the network management system (NMS) manager. They may fail to get delivered and critical information may get lost. This problem becomes worse in a large and congested network. Today, in practice, a management station is often flooded with a huge number of redundant events, making it difficult for the operator to process them and take corrective actions. Methods are needed to limit the volume of event transmission and number of events presented to the operator, while ensuring delivery of important information to the NMS manager. These methods need to take care of the operators' changing needs in monitoring abstraction level, for various network elements (NE) based on time and NE severity state. In this paper we propose novel techniques for distributed control of events flood, by suppressing transient events at the source. These techniques do not add any delay in communicating a failure, while ensuring that only the important events are presented to the operator. Also, the correctness of event state at the NMS is not compromised. Moreover, these methods give flexibility to the operator to dynamically change the abstraction level needed from a network element, and limit the number of events presented to the operator. The implementation of these techniques is tested with real field event traces from various telecom networks. Results show that there is a substantial reduction in the event traffic in the network. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||